Project History

Caltrans has studied the effects this project may have on the environment. The Final Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) was approved, and is available to view online at www.dot.ca.gov/dist12/DEA/405/index.php.

During the initial DEIR/EIS public review period in May 2013, Caltrans received comments on potential traffic impacts within the City of Long Beach. In an effort to address these comments, Caltrans prepared a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) to evaluate the existing and future traffic flow conditions within the Los Angeles County traffic study area including at a minimum, demand, capacity and level of service for the mainline freeway and arterial street intersections within the City of Long Beach not considered in the Draft EIR/EIS.

The I-405 Improvement Project Supplemental DEIR/EIS was released on Friday, June 28, 2013 and was available for public review and comment through Monday, August 12, 2013.

As required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Caltrans, in cooperation with OCTA, is preparing an Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for the I-405 Improvement Project. The EIR/EIS analyzes factors that include, but are not limited to, the following: aesthetics, cultural resources, biological resources, hazardous wastes and materials, public services and facilities, water quality, floodplain, noise, air quality, recreation, community impacts, and transportation/traffic.

The I-405 Draft Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement (DEIR/EIS), released in May 2012, included three build alternatives as well as a No Build Alternative. The draft EIR/EIS document is available on Caltrans’ website at the following address:

Throughout the project development process, OCTA worked closely with a variety of stakeholders to keep them apprised of the project status and alternatives under consideration. During the DEIR/EIS public review period between May 18 and July 17, 2012, OCTA and Caltrans held four public hearings and received more than 1,200 comments. Each comment received during the public review process will be formally responded to in the Final EIR/EIS.

On October 22, 2012, the OCTA Board of Directors selected Alternative 1 as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). Alternative 1 meets the commitment promised to Orange County voters in Measure M2 (Project K) to add one general purpose (GP) lane in each direction from Euclid Street to Interstate 605 (I-605) and improve interchanges within the project limits.

I-405 Scoping Meetings

Four Public Scoping Meetings were held in Fall 2009 to provide an early exchange of information and to give interested parties an opportunity to provide comments or identify concerns. Comments received at the meeting became part of the public record and will be considered in defining the scope of the project and developing the I-405 Improvement Project EIR/EIS.

Major Investment Study

A Major Investment Study (MIS) for the I-405 corridor from SR-73 to I-605 was completed in February 2006. The MIS addressed a variety of potential solutions to the mobility problems in the corridor. As part of the MIS process, the OCTA Board of Directors adopted a resolution supporting a Locally Preferred Strategy (LPS) of improvements to the I-405 corridor within the study area. A major consideration in the selection of the LPS was its limited ROW acquisition impacts.

Project Study Report

In 2006, voters approved Renewed Measure M (M2). A project to add one general purpose lane in each direction on I-405 was included in M2. In implementing this directive, the proposed project would need to make best use of the existing available freeway property, update interchanges, and replace all local overcrossings according to city and regional master plans. A Project Study Report/Project Development Support (PSR/PDS) document for this project, then called the “I-405 Widening Project,” was completed in July 2008. The PSR/PDS document describes the transportation problem, identifies the scope of viable alternatives, and provides an estimate of the project development support resources required. A Preliminary Environmental Assessment Report (PEAR) was also prepared as part of the PSR/PDS. This process resulted in a determination that a joint Environmental Impact Report (EIR) / Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be required in compliance with CEQA and NEPA, respectively (Department 2008).